Tag: #sin

Why Do We need to Focus on the Truth?

A Bowl of Encouragement by Herb Cotton

God Speaks:

Psalm 119:129-136 King James Version (KJV)

129 Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.

130 The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.

131 I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.

132 Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.

133 Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.

134 Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts.

135 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes.

136 Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.

My Opening Prayer:

Father, open my heart so that I might see the truth, and open the hearts of your people who are seeking a word from you. Father, may all who pray, ask you to sanctify them by the power of Your Word. Father, we need mercy in this world so that we will not have to face the wrath of God when the time of mercy has expired at the first death.

Father, please save the lost from the penalty of sin, and keep the redeemed from the power of sin, and we look forward to the day when Jesus will deliver us from the presence of sin. Father, may we work while it is the day because night is coming when no man can work. In the name of Jesus, we pray, Amen.

Listen to God Speak & Obey:

Allow me to ask you a penetrating question about what I heard and received in last weekend sermons at my church. I got a double barrel of truth; Saturday night and Sunday morning. 

I heard the truth that confession purges your heart of the shame that appears when the light of the Word of God shines into the dark places of your mind, heart; this darkness affects your total body; from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet.

My family and friends, we are all imperfect people. We all miss the mark of our creator, and He gets the final word. The Bible says:

Romans 6:22-23 New Living Translation (NLT)

22 But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

It’s time for each one of us to have a real talk with God. The next step is to talk with three to five closest friends of the same sex in our circle of influence. Notice what the Bible says:

Galatians 5:16 King James Version (KJV)

16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Prayer:

Father, I pray that men and women who are within reach of this message will surrender their hearts to You, and will surrender their shame in exchange for the deliverance of our mind, soul, and body from the darkness of death, and move into the light of the presence of God now and for eternity. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray, Amen.

 

—

Link to my new devotional book Amazon Author’s Page. Everything about the book is found there with pictures, and more to come.
 

How to Live With Joy In Times Like These

Text:

1 Peter 5:6-7 (NLT)

6  So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.

7  Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

Observation:

The lyrics of this Mahalia Jackson song speaks into my heart as I ponder this topic.

“Soon I will be done

With the troubles of the world

Troubles of the world

Troubles of the world

Soon I will be done

Troubles of the world

I’m going home to live with God.”

There are more than enough worries and cares in our lives. They begin in our own lives, and we take them everywhere we go. I read something recently that said, “Our churches would be great except for the people.”

The lyrics from the above song says, “Soon I will be done with the troubles of the world, I’m going home to live with God.”

What do we do in the meantime? I read a post on Social Media recently that said, “We need to respond to hate with love; not more hate.” The Saint Francis Prayer just popped into my head.

“Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.

O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life”.

Prayer:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Father, your Son, told us, that in the world we would have troubles and that He had overcome the world. Father, we give our cares to You and receive Your peace.

Father, help us to get through these trying time by showing love, and not hate. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray, Amen.

—

1 Samuel 3:10 (NLT)
10  And the LORD came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.”

Read all the Daily Devotionals by Herb Cotton; click here:

http://herbcotton.blogspot.com/

Listen to all of the Daily Devotionals by Herb Cotton; click here:

https://soundcloud.com/praying-for-you-ministry

Why We Should Never Forget the Lord

Text:

Psalm 94:18-19 (ESV)

18  When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.

19  When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.

Observation:

Have you ever been in the position where you thought I have really messed up now?

The Psalmist reveals in today’s Psalm that there was a time in his life that he said, “My foot slips”.

My friends our sins are either on the back of Jesus, or they are on our back. Which is it for you? Are you able to sing the lyrics of the song, “It Is Well With My Soul?”

“My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!”

Have you experienced the steadfast love of the Lord in your life? Do you belong to God, and God belongs to you? Are you able to sing, “Now I Belong to Jesus?”

“Once I was lost in sin’s degradation,

Jesus came down to bring me salvation,

Lifted me up from sorrow and shame,

Now I belong to Him;”

Prayer:

Father God, I will never forget what Jesus did for me. Father, I pray for anyone who reads or hears this Word, and are still bearing the burden of their sins, will come to Jesus, and find forgiveness of their sins, and freedom in Christ. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Psalm 94:22 (ESV)

22  But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.

—

Ephesians 6:10-11 (ESV)
10  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
11  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Read all the Daily Devotionals by Herb Cotton; click here:

http://herbcotton.blogspot.com/

How to Live Guilt Free?

 

Text:

1 John 1:9 (HCSB)

9  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Observation:

Today’s focal text is the favorite verse of one of my dear friends. There is great value in being able to remove from our lives the guilt associated with past or present sins.

This is especially significant when we realize that the price for our sins has already been paid in full by our Lord and Savior Jesus the Messiah of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (HCSB)

21  He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

This is indeed goodnews; the amazing grace of God, who in the person of Jesus exchanged our sins for His righteousness.

Those who are recipients of this amazing grace gift have been given the privilege of sharing this goodnews.

Matthew 28:19-20 (HCSB)

19  Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20  teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Do you know that if you are a recipient of this grace gift provided by Jesus; that if Christ lives in you, then you are an ambassador for Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:19-21 (HCSB)

19  That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us.

20  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.”

21  He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Are you telling the goodnews that Jesus saves?

Romans 10:13 (KJV)

13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Prayer:

Father, hallowed be Your name. Father, thank You for sending Jesus into the world to become our sin bearer.

John 3:16 (KJV)

16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Father, I am so glad that I can say with the saints of the ages, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the bible tells me so”. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

—

Isaiah 55:11 (KJV) 
11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Read the Daily Devotional by Herb Cotton; click here:

http://herbcotton.blogspot.com/

Hear the Daily Devotional by Herb Cotton; click here:

https://soundcloud.com/praying-for-you-ministry